Octavia 90 TDI Intermittent Instrument panel

[James_101]

Hi, i'm wondering if anyone has come accross the speedo and rev counter intermittently cutting out? Actually, it is more like intermittently cutting in now! Driving along, it will cut in/out if i hit a bump, and i have no idea what is causing it I have taken the car for a diagnostic check, and the garage told me they could not find a fault, so i tried changing the instrument panel, this did not seem to make a difference. It only appears to be the dials that are affected (Speedo, Revs, fuel and temp gague) the digital displays still work, and it is still regestering the miles. Also i changed the electronic sensor on the gearbox, this made no difference either. any suggestions ??????

[ginger payne]

I have the same problem,still searching for the answer.

[rachris]

OK I had this problem on my 1999 LXI Octy, I found a thread on this forum and in desperation tried it after many phone calls and discussions with people discovering this is a common problem, price for instrument panels (£350-500) Many panic attacks and night sweats later .. I took number 15 fuse (brown 5amp) out of the fusebox, This should bypass the problem and your dials should work but your digital clock and trip will reset everytime the ignition is turned off. This has worked on my octy and been fine for a week now. If you find this doesn't work for you find a good auto electricon If your near Norfolk I found a good one , Ps I took out the intrument panel completely to try some contact spray on the back initially, A real bitch to get out the facia surround, The tip is to get a screwdriver from the top and push down on the lower edge of the facia surround to release pronged clips that are part of the surround the haynes manual makes no mention of this!! Anyway the instrument cluster panel contains an immobilising device and is coded to the ECU (so getting a second hand inst cluster is not an easy option) If the removal of the fuse doesn't work then try an auto electrician they can normally be repaired for around £100- 150.. Any problems contact me on [email protected] All the best Chris

[bizarroal]

thanks a million for the workaround rachris, pulled out the number 15 fuse last night and my clocks came back on ! I can live with the time / trip being reset for now ( probably more important to know how much juice is in the tank ) - any idea if this might cause any adverse effects in the long run ?

[csblazso]

I am having the same problem to. One of my friends said the four needles on the dash (revs, temp, fuel, speed) are working on common 5V. There is a Voltage

Regulator in the dashboard and maybe this is the faulty.

[rachris]

I'm not sure If there are any long term adverse affects, But pulling a fuse out shouldn't in theory cause any damage Its not like your putting extra load on the system or putting a higher amperage fuse in that really would be potentialy dangerous. I've had my fuse out for 10 days now and no problems whatsoever. I really cannot see a problem I think the absent 5 amp fuse just breaks the faulty circuit. I'm no mechanic just an ex Motor Parts counter salesman but If any experts want to enlighten me on this please feel free Many thanks Chris

[rachris]

Hey Bizarroal, I'm not to worred bout the petrol gauge more concerned about the speedo, Them speed camera vans are a sod round here and £60 is a lot of dosh and I intend to keep my insurance low (what do points make???), Driving without speedo and rev counter is almost like driving with my eyes shut I hated it. My wife would have said the same think but she already shuts her eyes whilst driving with me!!!! Chris

[bizarroal]

.......Driving without speedo and rev counter is almost like driving with my eyes shut I hated it. ......

yeah tell me about it - ive been dealing with the problem for at least 6 months now but im looking forward to good weather conditions now so i kinda need to know how fast i am going. this morning was the first time ive had a speedo coming into work and i realised that most of the time ive probably been doing 80

absolutely delighted with this fix now as the car is due for its NCT in a month or so and im sure i would have failed due to the lack of speedo but maybe the resets might stay under the radar - so i have to say thanks a million once again.

i definetly think that this deserves a sticky considering the price involved in fixing this and the danger / convenience also. not sure how to suggest this though.

[rachris]

Yeah It seem a common fault , But believe it your not If your speedo wasn't working your car would pass the MOT(checked with 2 garages) but its illegal to drive without a speedo!!!! Work that out!!

Like yourself I was chuffed to bits when i tried this fix as I had just bought the car and starting to get disheartened about it. I love It now Its the wifes but IVE been using it for work for the past week a real dream to drive! especially for a grand!

[cheezemonkhai]

If you know somebody handy at soldering with a microscope get them to check the dashpod for dry joints etc.

HTH

[damiandixon]

My 97 Octavia 1.6 GLxi speedo failed today. Lost all power while driving.

Given that the speedo failed 1yr 3months ago and it cost

[sam21]

yes pulling fuse 15 worked , thanks guys

[csblazso]

Hi,

I have the answer. I have written before they are two voltage regulator ICs (TLE4279g and TLE4276g). The 4276g is responsible for the analogue indicators. Usually the problem is dry joints of these IC! Solder around the two smd IC’s!

[Tonyt]

Hi, very interested in this thread as my Octavia, year 2000, 2ltr petrol engine, has developed exactly the same fault. Of interest is that the car has never experienced this problem before until recently when the engine management light came on. The fault was diagnosed as the oxygen lambda sensor. The sensor was replaced and the engine management light switched off using the code reader. Ever since the dashboard dials have worked intermittently and, as per the original thread, has continued to worsen. The garage (non Skoda) are convinced that the problem is neither related to the lambda sensor or the code checker and reset. It may well be a pure co-incidence but I wonder if this scenario is familiar to anyone who has experienced this instrument fault.

Finally, is the fuse removal work around still working fine? And, has anyone taken up our friends advice and checked the dry joints on the voltage regulator TLE4276g - is it hard to gain access lubricate / replace? Many thanks.

[Martin Evans]

Just tried re soldering the terminals on TLE4276g in my pod (2000 1.6LX), seems to have done the trick.

[soviet]

recovered

[soviet]

May Be Of Use:-

216-21801-0-TLE_4276[1].pdf

[Octaviaowner]

This is a brilliant thread and has saved me at least

[daverapid]

Well, I've certainly learnt some good tips today!

[soviet]

This is a brilliant thread and has saved me at least

[Octaviaowner]

Thanks for the information on the location of the TLE4276G.

I needed the magnifying glass to find it.

I have checked all the connections for this component on the circuit board and they all look fine, no obvious dry/bad joints. Used a meter to check that there was a good connection to each of the 5 pins.

I could only inspect one side of the circuit board however, was not sure how easy it was to seperate the display dials from the circuit board. I gave a gentle tug at the dial hands and they did not seem to release easily so rather than cause any damage have now reassembled and reinstalled the instrument panel.

I have no way of knowing however whether the TLE4276G itself is working properly or not.

For the time being I think that I will just be happy to drive around with fuse 15 removed and have the speedo, rev counter, fuel guage and temperature guage working normally.

Thanks again for your help.

[Octaviaowner]

I have now located the TLE 4276G on the instrument cluster but cannot find any bad connections by metering them. I am for now happy to have the speedo, rev counter, fuel guage and temp guage working with fuse 15 removed.

I have found two places that are offering a repair service for the instrument cluster they are:-

1. BBA reman who offer a test and repair service of the unit, subject to condition for

[cheezemonkhai]

I would suggest re flowing the solder connections anyway as they will often seem fine when metered but not be good when in use.

HTH

[soviet]

I have now located the TLE 4276G on the instrument cluster but cannot find any bad connections by metering them. I am for now happy to have the speedo, rev counter, fuel guage and temp guage working with fuse 15 removed.

I have found two places that are offering a repair service for the instrument cluster they are:-

1. BBA reman who offer a test and repair service of the unit, subject to condition for

[soviet]

Have posted more info. and as this guy is now possibly home from work, I am bringing it to the fore to try with helping him. See last thread.

Soviet